At life's crossroads, we often instinctively look back and envy the paths we didn't choose. True beauty, however, lies not in endlessly idealizing "the other path," but in immersing ourselves in every step we have before us. Rejecting the internal struggle and focusing on oneself is not only a form of growth, but also a clear and powerful life aesthetic.
The pervasive feeling of anxiety is spreading around me.
Today, we often feel confused due to social pressure. The more successful we are, the more we see people who are better than us: when you reach a certain level, you realize that there are many people here who have talent and are willing to work hard; when you use your effort and talent to reach another goal, there will be people in front of you who call themselves geniuses. But I still can't explain this feeling; it's like choosing postgraduate studies after university, and during that time, you might struggle to find a job and earn money; if you choose employment directly, the desire for further education still lingers in your heart.
This "surrounded by a city" state of mind is like an endless game of chasing light. We are always standing on our own desolate land, gazing at someone else's oasis that seems full of blooming flowers. But as Borges said, paradise should look like a library, and each person's true paradise actually exists only on the path they deeply cultivate themselves. Often, we fall into the illusion that if we choose a different path, we will avoid all the mud and thorns. So, people taking postgraduate entrance exams envy the economic independence of those who work, and those who work yearn for the purity and freedom of campus life. This fantasy of a "parallel world" is actually a betrayal of your current self.
True beauty never comes from a feeling of superiority gained through comparison, but from decisiveness in a state of "psychic flow." When you stop looking out the window and instead focus on the book in your hand, the code in front of your eyes, or the plan on the table, you realize that concentration itself is an aesthetic full of power. Deeply exploring one's own path means embracing the loneliness and ordinariness of that journey. It requires you to stop idealizing "the path not taken" and stop fantasizing about how perfect you would be in another time and space. Because every path has its own specific wind, frost, and rainbow.
The beauty lies in having eyes red from overwork for a goal; it's the concepts that you repeatedly ponder to break through stagnation; it's the next step you take even when you are confused. This beauty is not loud or dazzling, but has a deep strength rooted in the earth. So, please extinguish the burning fire of anxiety spreading around you. Do not idealize those distant lands you have never entered, and do not be swayed by the rhythm of others. Return all your energy back to yourself, repair your armor, and water your garden.
When you stop seeking external validation, you will stop creating anxiety within yourself, and instead, you will walk your own path with your whole heart and mind, becoming the most beautiful landscape in your own life. This path may be bumpy or long, but if you have walked it yourself, every step counts.
Marie Liu